


Just Another Day in Gotham

by AmiraHellion



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Baby dragons - Freeform, Cloning? Yes cloning., Fluff and Humor, Gothamites surprised by nothing, no profreading we die like mne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-10-22 05:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17656691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmiraHellion/pseuds/AmiraHellion
Summary: Batman leaves Gotham for one- ONE- week and returns to find his city is infested (not really) with Goliath clones- its a good thing they're cute.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Batmango](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batmango/gifts).



"Uh, Batman…" Flash approached hesitantly. Bruce sighed internally, feeling his annoyance make his shoulders go rigid, "There’s something…" Not that it was Flash’s fault that Batman had spent a whole week with Hal Jordan as they were on an off-world mission, but Bruce was very much not in the mood for more problems.

"What, Flash?" His voice was a little harsh with its ‘spit-it-out’ tone, but whatever, he wanted to see his children’s faces, eat Alfred’s cooking, and bed- in that order. He wanted to go home.

"TherearedragonsinGotham!" Flash spit out.

Bruce couldn’t help the slow blink as he processed the slur of words, "What?"

"We’ve, uh, been picking up a lot of rumors that there’s like a hoard of dragon-things in Gotham…Nightwing said everything was okay, but yeah…" Flash pointed at the computer’s monitor, that clearly displayed a creature that looked like Damian’s pet but smaller.

"Damian." Bruce growled.

-Six weeks earlier:

"How could you have possibly not seen Jurassic Park!?" Nightwing didn’t even give Robin the chance to answer, whipping to look at Batman with a gape on his face, "How has he not seen Jurassic Park!?"

"If it is another Snow White, then I have no desire to see it." Robin said evenly, giving one of the thieves within his radius an extra kick as the man flailed.

"But Jurassic Park! It’s a classic!"

"That’s what you said about Snow White."

"Well Jurassic Park is even better!"

"Doubtful." Robin raised an eyebrow at his brother and then looked over at Batman, face asking for relief from Nightwing’s pestering about this.

 _How is this my life?_ Batman wondered, offering Damain a shake of his head, which made the child frown. He tuned out Dick’s continuing rant, leading the way out the back of the museum as the police came in to make arrests. _How’d he even get on the topic?_ … _Oh yes…_ because a comment had been made about the dinosaur fossils, causing a ‘God creates dinosaurs, God kills dinosaurs, God creates man, man kills God, man brings back dinosaurs, dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth’ quote to be made (along with Stephanie letting out a whoop into their comms). Which, of course, made Damian scrunch up his little face and ask what that nonsense was about.

Hence here they were now, still talking about Jurassic Park as they ended patrol for the night.

"I’m guessing we’re watching Jurassic Park tonight?" Tim asked as he cleaned his weapons and put them away.

"’We’?" Damian asked imperiously, "Don’t tell me that you also have an interest in this trifle?"

Tim let out a soft chuckle, "Actually, it is pretty good. The animatronics still hold up today. You’ll like it."

Damian’s face was suspicious, rightfully so under normal circumstances, "Father, will you be watching the Jurassic Park with us?"

Bruce didn’t even have to catch Nightwing’s look to know that Dick probably had a pleading ‘don’t ruin this for me’ on his face, "Yes I’ll watch it too." That also seemed to settle Damian as he nodded.

"Yay, movie night with good ole dad." Jason called sarcastically as he straddled his motorcycle, a lasagna and box of cookies tucked into his back pack already.

"You could watch with us!?" Dick invited with a bright smile.

Jason didn’t even pretend to debate it, "yeah no."

"But Jay-!"

"Noooo sir. I will enjoy my night without being squished on a sofa by your fat ass."

"Hey!!!"

"Later suckers." Jason gave a grin as he put on his helmet (not the red hood one), "Enjoy the cuddling, Demonsquirt." And raced out of the cave with far too much throttle.

-Five weeks earlier:

"Father, why are there no genetic sequencing books in our library?"

Bruce was used to the odd question thrown his way- he had to be after Dick with his dabbling here and there, and Jason with his incessant quest for any knowledge, and Tim’s sometimes out-of-nowhere topics, and even Cassandra’s rare requests. And yet still he took a minuet to process what his youngest asked. "I suppose we haven’t had a need so far for that specific topic. We’ll take a trip to the public library tomorrow. Why do you want to know about that anyway?"

"Plus there’s the Internet." Tim called helpfully.

"Personal project. The Jurassic Park has made me curious." Damian answered and sent a scornful look at Tim, "And the Internet is often filled with as much false information as there is truth, books are better."

"Just gotta check the sources." Tim replied with a shrug, typing away at a Wayne Tech report (one less that Bruce had to have in his life- thank you Tim).

Damian seemed ready to, as per norm, start an argument with his older brother, but then paused, if considering, "Find some reliable websites and send them to me." Bruce gave his youngest a look, waiting for him to correct the pompous tone, "Since you have an abundance of free-time as it is, Drake, it really shouldn’t trouble-"

"Damian."

"I mean…" Tim was clearly enjoying watching his brother struggle as Damian bit his lip and scowled, "Please?"

-Four weeks earlier:

"Father, may I borrow the BatJet?"

"No. And why?"

Damian pouted, looking a lot like Dick actually, "I wish to make a trip to Bialya."

"Doubly no. Why?" What with all the trouble in that place, the last place Damian needed to be was there.

"Father," Damian whined, actually _whined_ , "I just wanted to go to the ruins, a small trip. Goliath likes to return to his birth place on occasion."

"I’ll go with him." Tim spoke up and Bruce almost boggled. When ever would Tim volunteer to do something with _Damian_?! "I’ve always wanted to see the ruins there, besides if he does cause an international incident, you can count on me to give him to the authorities while I sneak away."

"Thanks Tim." Bruce replied sarcastically while the teen grinned.

"I will not cause an international incident! And if **somehow** it happened- it would most likely be your fault. AND you would never be able to catch me and nor would the authorities! Besides, you are not welcome on this trip!" Damian spat out, hands on hips.

"Tim goes or you don’t." Ah, parenting.

-3 weeks earlier:

"Father," _Oh no, here we go again,_ "I want to use a corner of the BatCave for my project."

"The gene project?" Bruce asked with suspicion, wondering if it were really so simple. It was _never_ that simple with his kids.

"Yes."

"Just the gene project?"

"Yes, Father." Damian was starting to sound annoyed.

"No explosives, poisons, biological or chemical weapons-"

"Just the gene project." Damian snipped, "Really Father, you worry too much."

"Fine, you can work in the BatCave. I will be checking in."

"I naturally assumed you would."

-2 weeks earlier:

Bruce had not been checking in. And now his son had commandeered some of the BatComputer’s operations.

"Damian. What have you done to the computer?"

"Don’t worry, Father, I had Oracle’s assistance in ensuring that the BatComputer’s necessary procedures will still run without being hindered by my project." Damian said proudly, which Bruce supposed he should be- he was able to get Barbara in on this somehow.

"Why do you need to use the BatComputer? You have a laptop."

Damian gave him a ‘duh’ look like Bruce should know. He probably should know, probably should have predicted this, but he had been all wrapped up in making sure the idiot Lantern didn’t drag the Earth into some sort of inter-universal problem…again.  "Only the BatComputer has the power to run the data involved with DNA."

"Right." Bruce rubbed his face, debating if it was worth a fuss. This was something that Damian was clearly submerged in and enjoying. He had not caused any problems so far, not even with Tim. And shockingly on that front, Damian had actually been using his brother as a resource, rather than treating him as an irritant. "I’ll let it be for now, as long as it continues not to interfere with anything important."

"Of course, Father." Damian gave a dutiful nod, "The project should reach its conclusion in a few weeks time." There was a smile that surprised Bruce, the sheer pleasure in Damian’s features. It was gone in a heartbeat, but it made Bruce smile a little himself.

-1 week ago:

"You’re surprisingly good at diplomacy, so you’ll go, won’t you?" Superman asked with those goddamn baby blues that made Batman glare.  A- why was he always asked? B-and why was it so surprising that he was good at diplomacy? All you had to do was apply a little understanding for another’s culture and be respectful of it. Easy.

"Why should I go? Isn’t this a big enough job for Superman? Shouldn’t this be a Lantern problem in the first place?"

"Well~" Oh no. Not the slow ‘weeeeell…’ Batman hated those. "Green Lantern is going. We just thought it would be better that he’s not on his own. And like I said, you’re very good at diplomacy and figuring out those sorts of problems." So Superman was going to stick him with an idiot and expect him to fix said idiot’s problems as they arose. Great.

-Now:

Batman grappled to the top of the nearest building the moment he was out of the beta-tube in Gotham. Immediately he saw what Flash had described, easily half a dozen mini-Goliaths wheeling around in the air and shooting fireballs at one another, while Goliath himself whooshed under them.

"Goliath." Batman growled, knowing the bat-dragon’s sensitive hearing would pick up on his voice and tone. As expected the beast whipped in Batman’s direction and then flew his way- the little dragons at his tail.

He also heard, "Shit, he’s back." "Sssh." From behind him.

"Boys." He called lowly, not bothering to turn around. Simply watched Goliath and his clutch land while his children probably sulked guiltily out of the shadows.

"Hello Father," Damian was the first to present himself, puffing out his chest, but Bruce saw the slightly tucked chin and the unsure eyes, "how was your trip?" Batman gave a grunt to convey his dissatisfaction.

"C’mon B! Tell us about your adventure with Hal Jordan!" Next was Nightwing, going for jovial, then wilting when he saw Bruce’s disposition, "Its not that bad!" Batman just crossed his arms and Dick immediately gestured at Tim.

"They’ve caused no problems so far, B. Actually they’re fairly intelligent and have been picking up the training really well." Tim came to his brother’s side. Batman offered another grunt.

"Oh no! He’s gone to the grunting! The idiot Lantern broke him!" Jason grinned savagely, also joining the group of boys.

Jason was always so good at getting under his skin and making him talk, "Why do I have to come back to rumors of this? Why the hell did I not know before I left? I was gone a week. One. One week."

"By all rights, he was working on it for a month so you should have noticed." Tim said helpfully, earning a scowl that he looked away from.

"Besides, they’re super cute." Nightwing added, like that mattered, as he scooped up one that had been crawling up his leg. It had orange downy fur, big yellow eyes, sharp little claws, and wide ears. It was big enough to rest across Nightwing’s forearm, cradled like a baby with its tail tucked against its belly.

"I didn’t think they would’ve already been born either, Father. I thought to tell you when you returned from your mission…" Damian offered, another mini-dragon perched on his head. This one was deep maroon in color, but otherwise identical.

"But?" Bruce asked, hearing the ‘but’ in Damian’s words.

"But I’m not sure whether a bat-dragon’s gestation period is shorter naturally than a bat’s, or if the cloning process somehow shortens it…they were born 2 days ago."

Bruce sighed, he needed the whole story, "Its time to go home, so let’s collect the herd of them-"

"Cauldron." Damian interrupted.

"What?"

"A group of bats is called a cauldron, or a group of dragons is called a thunder."

"We’re still debating." Nightwing said with a smile, stroking the orange dragon’s belly fur.

"Let’s take the Thunder Cauldron home, so I can have the full report."

"Yes Father."

-Home:

Damian really had gone all out, Bruce should have connected the pieces sooner; hell he could have just talked to Damian about it and would’ve figured it out instantly that he was trying to clone bat-dragons. Of course the endeavor was inspired by Jurassic Park (which means he blamed Dick in part), but also by Damian’s heart (which means he also wanted to blame his youngest, but coming from such a pure place it was hard to). Damian had been worried about Goliath not having a family beyond them- the humans in his life- that would eventually die, leaving the bat-dragon alone for his long life span.

"So why didn’t you give me a head’s up?" Bruce asked Tim, because Tim had apparently helped the process along. (Points for bonding but Tim was to blame too.)

"Figured you would have some inkling about it and investigated it yourself." Tim answered with a shrug. (So Bruce had blame too…great.)

"Okay, one last question." There had been questions for the past couple hours, "What are you going to do with them?"

"We are training them to attack the garbage of Gotham as we do so they may be of assistance like Goliath. Of course, they may also choose to return to Bialya at some point in their lives." Damian gave a slight shrug.

Bruce was letting it go for once in his life, as he heaved a big sigh, "I'm going to bed."


	2. Gotham's Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Gothamite's POV

John watched the TV, finding it fascinating that on one of these talk shows all they had to talk about was the dragon things that Batman was apparently ‘unleashing’ on the city. No genuine news for these people. And of course they had guests that didn’t even live in Gotham to discuss the strange beasts with.

"Its another ploy by Batman to undermine the police and therefore the government." Someone was saying.

Earning a snort and a, "The Batman is a rumor created by the police!" See, that right there. Any Gotham citizen knew that Batman worked with the police (to some degree) and that he did in fact exist. He and all of his associates, including the dragon things, existed and worked for the people of Gotham. Why, just the other day, John’s wife had almost been mugged. ‘Almost’ because guess who’d intervened? That’s right, Batman….err well, actually Robin and his dragon, but that’s not the point…

"Honey! Come here!" John heard his wife Shellie call excitedly from the balcony where she was grilling dinner.

"Wha-" Speak of the devil. A dragon thing was on John’s own balcony, procuring a steak.

"Look look! I told you it was cute!" And it was, with doe eyes, fluffy salmon pink fur, and big ears that dwarfed its head.

"Fish*?" A voice called and the couple glanced up to find Robin on the balcony above them, climbing down to scoop up the dragon with a, "Shame on you." The black mask made most of Robin’s expression unreadable, "I apologize for your meal being interrupted and stolen, we are still in-training. I will reimburse you."

"Oh! No worries!" Shellie smiled, booping the dragon on its nose and looking like she was considering doing the same to Robin (he was also very cute despite the serious presence), "I don’t mind sharing, especially with the ones who helped me last night!"

It seemed to register as Robin gave a quiet, "Oh."

"Can we get you something to eat too? We have potato salad and garlic bread and-"

"No, thank you ma’am, the gesture is enough." Robin interrupted, giving a nod and then backing up, "Good night." He offered and then was climbing back up the building with the thieving dragon in-tow.

"So cute!" Shellie said brightly as they watched the two disappear into receding light of the day.

The End!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fish is the dragon's name. I had it in my head that like Jason and Cass got together and insisted on naming one of the bat-dragons 'Fish' (Damian unwillingly caved). Also! Thanks to Batmango again for ideas! I hope you liked it and it was up to your standard and vision! It was lots of fun! Happy V-day too all BTW!


	3. Tell me W H Y

4 weeks earlier- Tim’s POV:

"So…why are you cloning bat-dragons?" It hadn’t really taken much to connect the pieces, especially after the trip to Bialya where they’d collected old hair and bone.

"Astute of you to notice, Drake." Damian said in his holier-than-thou tone that made Tim want to punch him in the face (then again maybe it was a brother-thing because he always wanted to punch him in the face), "Of course, it was not much of a mystery in the first place."

Tim took a deep breath, reminding himself to be patient with the demon, "Right. So, why?" Damian ignored the question, Tim knew he’d heard because of the way Damian rolled his jaw and dodged Tim’s gaze, "Damian," He tapped the younger boy’s shoulder, taking a grip when Damian continued to ignore him, "Damian."

"What?!" The boy snapped, obstinate as always.

"Why?" Tim repeated calmly, not rising to the bait of Damian’s jutted out chin, holding the sharp green eyes with his own blue ones.

Damian ‘tsk’-ed but didn’t look away, "Because I don’t want Goliath to be alone." Tim frowned, "Bat-dragons live for a long time, Goliath will still be here when our bones have turned to dust…I don’t want him to be alone." That soft place inside Tim that he kept reserved for only the most touching things turned to absolute mush at Damian’s words.

"Oh."

"I know it’s probably difficult for your small mind to understand, or perhaps you may not even care about Goliath in the first place, but-"

"He’s family, I know." Tim squeezed Damian’s arm and then released him with a smile, "I do understand, even with my small mind."

Damian blushed and looked away, "…I’m sorry, I know your mind isn’t small…"

"I wish I had recorded that." Tim muttered, ruining the moment.

Damian glared, "That’s enough chattering. If you’re done with your asinine questions, I need to return to my project."

 

3 weeks earlier- Dick’s POV:

"So what’s this project that B’s let you take over the Cave for??" Damian ‘tt’-ed, probably ready to tell him that it was none of his business, but oh ho it was always his business- one of the perks of being the big brother. He squeezed Damian close, giving a grin and a, "Tell me."

"He’s cloning bat-dragons." Tim called.

Dick could feel his eyebrows shoot up, "What?"

"It is as Drake has said, we are in the process of cloning bat-dragons." Damian said confidently.

"Um," Questions buzzed through Dick’s head, he wasn’t sure what to ask first ‘ _B’s allowing this?_ ’ ‘ _Does B even know?_ ’ ‘ _Why didn’t you guys tell me?’ ‘Is it because of Jurassic Park?’_ Though most important was, "Why?" Damian wasn’t the hair-brained, off the rails at random sort of kid. He was methodic and precise, didn’t do things without purpose.

Damian frowned, scrunching his nose, "Why else, Grayson? You of all people should know with your weekly pontification about the ‘importance of family’."

"Oookay?"

Damian looked annoyed as he realized Dick wasn’t following, "Goliath is a bat-dragon and we are people and we are going to die much sooner than he is, so he needs members of his own species to live with, he needs a family." Dick saw the care and sincerity and instantly felt so proud and so touched.

"Aw, Little D." He murmured, capturing the boy who gave an exasperated sigh as he was hugged.

"Enough, release me."

"You’re such a wonderful person," Dick told him, making sure not to gush too much or Damian would think we was being fake, "And wonderful family to Goliath."

Damian flushed red, visibly withholding emotion, "I said enough! I don’t need told such things that I already know!" Dick just squeezed him more.

 

2 weeks earlier- Barbara’s POV:

"I require some assistance." Was this Damian asking for help? Was it possible?

Barbara was intrigued, "What do you need, Damian?"

"I was wondering if it was possible to allocate some of the BatComputer’s resources towards my project without disrupting its functions? And if so, please do so."

"The bat-dragon cloning project?" She had heard about it from Dick and had thought about taking a look at it herself some time.

"Yes."

"What do you need the computer to do? It can probably handle it, depending on how much data there is to run."

"Just a run-through of the DNA we have recovered, so that I’m aware of where the missing pieces are and I can fill them with Goliath’s DNA."

"Seems do-able. I’ll help you set it up when I can."

"Thank you."

"Though, one question, why are you cloning bat-dragons?" She had asked Dick that question and had gotten a mushy gushy brotherly answer from him. It hadn’t satisfied her curiosity.

Damian paused, then answered in a quiet tone, "Because we’re mortal, we’re guaranteed to die before he does and he shouldn’t be left all alone, without family, without a home." Barbara was struck by the vulnerability to his words, the way he must’ve thought so much about it, the acceptance that one day he would die and that Goliath would be without him. It hurt a little to see the normally steeled boy show that soft side, but Barbara was honored to have it shown to her.

She nodded her understanding, "I’ll get to it as soon as I can."

 

1 week earlier- Jason’s POV:

Bruce had just gone off world, so that meant it was time to raid the Manor for some cookies and do some brotherly bullying while he was at it.

"Whatcha doing, squirt?" Damian merely threw him a glance and an eye-roll, "No, really, whatcha doing?" Jason would not be ignored. He went over to the BatComputer and Damian’s little workspace, taking it all in with his full focus. Beakers, test-tubes, incubators, sequences running through the computer…all of it. "What the fuck are you cloning?"

Damian looked surprised, "Bat-dragons. I’m mildly-impressed you were able to ascertain that so quickly, Todd."

"Hardy har har, fuck you." Jason offered, hearing Tim snicker off to his left.

"Language, Master Jason." And there was Alfred’s reprimand from somewhere on his right.

"Sorry…" Jason muttered, "Anyway, shortie, why are you cloning bat-dragons?" He mussed the kid’s hair, loving the little growl and how Damian batted at him with menace in his expression, still trying to ignore him otherwise. It wasn’t going to work.

"Stop it!" Damian finally snarled when Jason wouldn’t be deterred from picking at him.

"Tell me why and I’ll let you be." Jason said with a sharky grin.

Damian crossed his arms, taking a long, judging look at his brother before his expression and body loosened and he let out a sigh, "Fine. I am cloning bat-dragons so that Goliath will have a family long after us. Satisfied? Now go away."

"Not satisfied." Jason cocked his head, "And he is an animal, so-"

Damian glowered, "The only animal of his kind, the only one in the entire world. How is that appropriate for anything to be utterly alone in the world?" There was something agonized in the boy’s expression that made Jason think ‘oh fuck’, "He had others and they were taken away, killed. And somehow it is not satisfactory for him to have a family merely because he is an animal? If anything it is **owed** to him. It is **my** debt to him and I shall do my best to repay it in spades."

Jason was silent. He hadn’t meant it like that. Fuck he hadn’t meant it that way. He had heard the whole story of Goliath’s origin, knew that must be a sore spot for Damian, but Jesus, he didn’t think he had stepped on it like that, hadn’t even been trying to.

Besides, he had just been thinking that animals didn’t have the same boundaries that humans made for themselves, that Goliath would always find a family as necessary because he wouldn’t be stupid like humans who separated themselves over shit like race, sexuality, and religion. Plus, in the back of his head, he knew that some of their longer lived friends would absolutely take Goliath in; the Amazons and Supers were both great with animals. "That’s not what I meant, but I’m still going to apologize." He finally said, looking Damian in the eye to convey the message, "Sorry."

"…What did you mean then?"

"Just figured he’d always have a family, you know, generations after us. There’s always going to be someone in Gotham who needs Goliath." Jason shrugged and then gave Damian’s hair another rough ruffle, "Anyway, satisfied now, so later."

 

2 days earlier- Cass’ POV:

Steph busted into the cave with a, "Alright! We have come to see The Jurassic Project!" Cass smiled and nodded at the bewildered expressions from the boys (all four were peacefully in the cave for once); Barbara just shook her head. Dick had told her and Steph about it, and they had finally gotten around to coming to see it.

"Jurassic Project?" Damian repeated spitefully, "It is called no such thing. And I doubt your puny mind can even comprehend the complexities of it anyway. Not you, Cassandra, you are welcome to see."

"Baby brother, mean." She scolded, tapping his nose as she passed him.

"Whatever, he’s just the grumpy old kid." Steph waved the comment off and both girls went over to the huge incubator, peeking inside at the small creatures within, "Kinda cute…kinda gross." Cass nodded in agreement. They were hairless, pink things, only slightly bigger than your average beanie baby.

"They are just coming out of the fetal stage." Damian informed them, chest puffed with pride, "I expect them to vocalize, move, and nurse soon."

"Nurse?"

"Yes, Pennyworth has helped me prepare some milk-like formula that should be sufficient for their nutritional needs."

"You’ll be bottle feeding them?" Excitement was coiling in Stephanie’s body.

"It’s not like Goliath has mammary glands, so yes." Damian replied with an eyebrow lift of condescension.

"I want to help!" There was the clapping, the apt glee. Cass smiled at seeing it.

"Me too!" Dick’s hand shot up, his body showing the same enthusiasm though, of course, the Dick-version with a beaming smile and lighter, bouncier steps.

"Tt. We shall see if you are suitable." Damian stated, though Cass could see his own anticipation, far more subdued, but still present; crinkles in the corners of his eyes, rubbing his fingers against his palms.

"Oh yeah, by the way, me and Cass-"

"Cass and I."

"Whatever, we were wondering why you cloned bat-dragons in the first place. Goliath isn’t enough for you or what?"

Damian looked annoyed, "Why does everyone keep asking why?" But that annoyance bled into something else, "Goliath needs a family so that he’ll never end up all alone." In other words, because Damian loved him. Love. That was the only explanation that Cass needed.

There was a peeping sound from the incubator; even Goliath was lumbering over in curiosity. Another series of chirps and Alfred offered, "Perhaps it is time to see if they are ready to eat?"

-Alfred’s POV-

Alfred watched with a hidden smile as the newest charges in the Wayne household were passed out into the warm arms of Wayne family members, cradled close, and offered tiny droppers of formula. The new bat-dragon pups were quick to nurse, which delighted those that held them. Even Alfred was warmed by the vigor of the tiny creature he held.

Of course none were as happy as Damian. Alfred was proud of the boy; he had heard every explanation as Damian was asked ‘why’ over and over again. He had shown more of his heart with each answer and it was quite the step. Not only that Damian was feeling such emotions and processing them in a positive way but that he was sharing them, explaining them, and having them understood and accepted. This was what family was. No wonder he wanted Goliath to have that too.

He couldn’t wait until Master Bruce came back and found that he had 8 new critters to share his home with…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little iffy about this but I guess its alright?


	4. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still having issues but here's a first jab at it *leaves chapter after poking it with a stick a few times*

Average measurements of 15-inch body, 7-inch tail, and 45-inch wingspan. Armaments of spikes along their tails (a trait that Goliath didn’t have), sharp claws on all four paws, and cutting fangs in their mouths; omnivorous as they were meant strong jaws and teeth made equally for slicing and grinding. They were intelligent, already having taken to basic commands within two weeks and learned to stay on Alfred’s good side (the man mostly…but occasionally the cat too). Their senses were impeccable, the large bat ears and full snout meant they could hear the drop of a pin and smell as good as a bloodhound. Also, Bruce suspected that they had night-vision, if the reflective lenses in their eyes were any indication. They could breathe fire, some able to shoot a stream of it while the others could do fireballs the size of soccer balls; they could launch their fire up to six feet away. And this ability also meant they were resistant to fire and extreme temperatures. Bruce could count on both hands how many times they’d found one of the dragons in the oven while it was pre-heating.  
All in all, they had the potential of being very serious threats, not just because they would become as big and as powerful as Goliath, but because even now, they were wild animals; volatile and changing in temperament, especially as young ones (just like his own children).

They were also… _distressingly cute._ _Oh god._ Bruce thought as one of the unnamed beasts landed on his shoulder with a flourish of her wings. Of the 8 little dragons they had, only 4 had names just yet, because Damian insisted that they should be named with careful thought. The boy had thankfully been allowing everyone to participate in the name game so far, even though he was still irked about Fish.

"Look look! I boop her nose and she makes a noise!" Dick demonstrated, by lightly touching the bat-dragon in his arms on her snout. Her muzzle scrunched and then she meowed like a kitten. Bruce’s eldest practically melted on the spot, "You’re so cute, Meri!" He cuddled the dragon who squeaked in response. ‘Meri’, short for ‘Merigold’, named by Dick without too much challenge from Damian since he was the favorite brother and because her coat was marigold orange… _and sparkly?_ Meri had golden sparkles all over her.

"Is she…covered in glitter?" Tim asked what Bruce was thinking, both men cocking their heads.

"Grayson!" Damian snapped.

"Its not like I dumped glitter on her!" Dick interrupted before Damian could start the berating, "She rolled around in the bathtub after I had used a bath bomb."

Jason started laughing from where he was rewiring his helmet while Fish watched on. Fish had been named by Jason and Cassandra had loved it, so Damian allowed it (not graciously mind you). Jason’s reasoning for the name? ‘She’s floppy and literally **salmon** pink. It would be a crime not to name her Fish.’

Bruce wasn’t sure how the bat-dragon was ‘floppy’ but it did help Jason’s case that Fish loved baths and jumping into the fountains in the garden.

"Why are you laughing?" Dick frowned.

"It’s just so typical." He looked ready to add on something snarky when one of the other dragons landed on his worktable, snatching up his wrench, "Hey! Hey!" He made an attempt to grab the beast that was almost an exact replica of Goliath- down to the color of his fur and his general disposition, "Tim! Get him!"

Tim cackled as the dragon flew in circles, just above Jason’s head, "C’mere Mighty." The boy called with a gesture, the little dragon obeying and dive-bombing into Tim’s arms. Mighty was perhaps the most surprising of the name choices thus far, simply because Damian had agreed to Tim’s naming. Mighty because ‘small but mighty’ as Stephanie liked to say, adding ‘just like Tim’ with a wink. Bruce also suspected that Damian appreciated the synonymous nature of the name.

"You little shit." Jason muttered without heat as he got the wrench back and tapped Mighty on the nose. Mighty sneezed.

"Hey! Hey! I got the perfect name!" Steph called as she pranced into the cave, "Lets call the white one- Cassandra!"

Damian’s lip actually quirked a little in a half smile, "That seems acceptable."

"Well she’s quick and lethal and just so darn adorable!" Stephanie clapped her hands while Dick nodded along. Cass just sort of cocked her head and looked intrigued.

"Cassandra." Damian summoned with a gesture. The dragon on Bruce’s shoulder looked away from the boy, "Cassandra?" She tucked her head under Bruce’s chin with a defiant ‘hmph’ noise.

"Maybe we’ll just call you Albino-y then!" Steph snapped, pouting her lips childishly.

Damian clicked his tongue, "Nonsense, she’s not even true albino, as she still has pigmentation in her claws and eyes. The term is leucistic."

"Nobody cares." Stephanie replied which made Damian glare.

"Just because your tiny brain cannot accept any information-"

"Noooooooobody~cares~" Steph sing-songed and Bruce watched his youngest go red.

"Let’s get geared up." Bruce called to his clutch of unruly children before they felt like going at it, shoo-ing the white dragon off of his shoulder. She made a noise at him but let herself be shoo-ed away while Bruce went to get his suit on for the night.

-

"Hey, still thinking of names?" Oracle asked over the comms. It was a slow night so Batman wasn’t surprised that there was extra chirping tonight that had nothing to do with their work; it was just unexpected that Barbara was the one piping in.

"Yep!" Batgirl answered first.

"You have one, my brilliant beauty?" Nightwing asked.

"Actually yes."

"Don’t bother if its for the white one, she’s as picky as Robin."

"Hey!"

"What? Its true!"

"Comms are for business." Batman reminded them patiently and was ignored.

"So what name ya got, Oracle?" Red Hood inquired, probably because he wanted to be the first to openly ignore Bruce.

"The maroon female- how about Maat? Like the Egyptian goddess?" The goddess of order, truth, and justice specifically. _Very nice_ Bruce thought.

"Impeccable naming, Oracle. I shall test it." Bruce wished he were there to see Damian as he tried the new name, but they’d split up with Damian under instructions to head home for the night. "Maat has accepted the name."

"So we’ve got one Fish."

"Stop waving her at the camera, Hood."

"And a Merigold." Batman could hear the bat-dragon’s squeak over Nighwing’s comm.

"And small but Mighty." Red Robin added in, he should be on his last loop before home too.

"Ali." Black Bat said softly, usually that one was with Damian.

"Prince Ali~ fabulous he~ Ali Ababwa." Nightwing sang softly, but the sensitive comms picked it up.

"And Maat." Robin finished, adding, "No singing required." For good measure.

"I thought you enjoyed Aladdin?? You said it was good." Nightwing asked. Bruce tuned out whatever response Damian had as something caught his attention. _Was that a shift of light or was there movement?_ Batman jumped from the rooftop he was on, landing on the ground, and pausing to listen. There was a barely audible scraping noise, dragging, _underground…_ Batman figured as he saw the manhole cover a few feet away was askew.

"Batman." Oracle spoke just as Batman was moving the manhole cover and getting ready to jump.

"There’s something down here, I’m just checking."

"Comms don’t work very well underground and you don’t have back-up. Wait for Black Bat, I’m routing her your way."

"I’m just being thorough, I’ll be right back up." He jumped down thinking _Besides, I do have backup._ with wry humor as the white dragon followed in behind him. She’d been hovering around him all night, smart enough to stick to reflective surfaces that helped her blend in while Batman stuck to the shadows; surprisingly stealthy for her coloring.

The man and dragon walked (and flew) down the sewage system, grateful it was the dry season and only his boots were getting caked in muck. There were signs that someone else had been down here recently, someone big. _Killer Croc._ Batman deduced from the footsteps that sunk in deep and trail that probably came from a tail. He had escaped prison a month ago and had been out of sight- out of mind until now.

Maybe he wouldn’t be right back up- Batman was starting to have that eerie feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t sure what took him by surprise the most, the fireball that the dragon just launched right past his face or the roar as Killer Croc jumped from out of a side pipes. The dragon had accuracy, buffering Croc’s advance while Batman withdrew his batarangs and got ready for the fight.

The fight was quick and went way worse than Bruce would’ve liked. He managed to throw two explosive batarangs- one blowing up in Croc’s face while the other hit him in the side, before Croc snapped his mouth around Batman’s forearm and refused to let go- even with the spikes deployed. He yanked Batman back towards the pipe that he’d come from, dodging another fireball from Batman’s little companion.

Batman was mid-punch to Croc’s snout when he was slammed into the side of the pipe and he felt something strain in his arm, all the way through his shoulder. His pause gave Croc the chance to grip his throat with a meaty hand, the suit creaking under the impressive force, and then he was rammed again into the pipe.

"Well Batman-ulp!" Was all Croc got out before the dragon was wrapping around his neck with her spiked tail and sinking her fangs into the side of his face with a tiny growl. Croc screamed as she broke his tough skin, his grip on Batman tightening while he swatted with his other hand.

"Release." Batman commanded as he pulled both legs up and kicked Croc in the chest. The dragon released Croc right as Batman’s feet hit, sending Croc stumbling backwards and then falling flat, "Fireball." She blew out a fireball while Bruce did a quick check to see if the suit had held up, it really wouldn’t be good to have his throat exposed. The suit was warped but still there, so Batman moved forward. He took out Croc’s knees with a kick before he could get back to his feet, and popped Croc in the throat with his fist, feeling his shoulder grind painfully. He hadn’t hit hard enough or at just the right angle, because Croc was lumbering back to his feet quicker than Batman would’ve liked.

Croc growled, showing his maw and all his sharp teeth, while Batman couldn’t resist a smirk as he saw the silent shadow behind Killer Croc. _Cassandra._ He watched as she hit the villain upside his temple, hard enough that he dropped like a stone.

"Black Bat." He greeted his daughter. Ali and the white dragon also did some sort of hello that involved flying into each other and then careening apart with chirping sounds.

"Not right back up." Cassandra answered in a half scold, half tease as she came to his side, "Not hurt?" He shook his head, but his shoulder ached as he tied up Croc so they could haul him up to the street. Black Bat’s fingers jabbed right into the nerves as she hit his shoulder, "You are hurt." He just sighed after the small involuntary groan, and gave her an offhanded wave, "Stubborn."

_Wonder where I get that from…_

__-_ _

"Master Bruce," Alfred’s words had heat that indicated annoyance.

"It’s just a sprain, Alfred." Bruce interrupted and earned a soft rap to the back of his head, courtesy of Alfred’s knuckles.

"You’re too old to be getting sprains." Dick said helpfully, the other kids grinning wide.

"Thanks Dick." Bruce replied, eyeing the eldest that’s face was painted with the ‘I’m brilliant and you love me’ smile.

"You’re very welcome." Dick answered and gave a pet to the white dragon that had commandeered Bruce’s non-hurt shoulder while Alfred was patching him up, "Maybe we should go with something like ‘Tsuki’?"

"Or Luna." Jason suggested.

"Cynthia is in the same vain." Tim called.

"Chandra." Damian added to the list of moon names, not that a single one had made the dragon acknowledge them. All four frowned, watching the dragon crawl down Bruce’s arm and squeak at them.

"Fine, I’m calling it, we’re gonna call her Mayo." Jason shrugged like that was that.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT." Damian instantly protested, fire in his eyes and hands on his hips, "Fish was a terrible enough name- no Mayo!"

Jason gasped dramatically, covering Fish’s ears, "You’d say that right in front of her?! Think of her feelings! It’s her name!"

Damian was flabbergasted, "That’s not what I- I didn’t mean…" Bruce stifled the urge to laugh, because of course his child would be worried about the animal’s feelings.

"Apologize, you callous jerk." Jason said pompously.

Damian grit his teeth but relented, "I’m sorry." Fish squeaked and bounced on Jason’s lap.

"Say Fish is a great name!"

"Fish is a great name."

"It’s an honorable name."

Damian glared, "Its an honorable name. Are you done now??"

"Have you properly felt bad about calling someone’s name terrible??" Jason whipped back, holding Fish up pointedly right in front of Damian’s face. Fish coo-ed, right at home with the manhandling. Damian glowered and promptly pulled Fish away from his brother, storming away with the dragon against his chest, "Hey! That’s my Fish-buddy!" Damian ignored his brother, carrying the dragon with him upstairs, "Can you believe this? A kidnapper in the BatCave and no one says anything." Jason said to Merigold, who was laid out on a worktable, batting half-heartedly at a dismantled escrima stick. The dragon scrunched her nose and mewed, "But I bet if I took you right now, Dickface would jump on me."

"Don’t you dare!" Dick swooped in to scoop up Merigold, holding her protectively.

"See that, there! Little demon can kidnap my buddy at will, but when I do it- I get shit for it." Jason was clearly in a mood, one of the ‘fight me’ playfulness that he had patented in the family. Dick stuck out his tongue in response, but Bruce could see the open body language. There was a pause as Dick put Meri down, and then Jason sprung at his brother and the play-rumble was on.

"Take it to the mats!" Bruce called as Alfred released him from the patch- up. The boys did some sort of maneuver that only got them closer to the mats but not on them. Until the white dragon let out a cry and blasted a fireball at them.

"FUCK!" "We’re on the mats now!"

"Thank you." Bruce murmured to the dragon who clicked in response.

-

"Bahram." Damian called, smiling when the dragon responded, "Excellent."

"Well that means only two more to go." Tim observed from the couch, tapping at his tablet’s screen, "Jason’s not gonna be happy that ‘peppers’ didn’t stick."

"Another foolish name." Damian snarked, petting the newly dubbed Bahram’s head.

"Cute. Though not right." Cassandra said, holding Maat while she read a book.

"I do not understand why he keeps trying to name them after food. They are apex predators, it’s not appropriate." Damian muttered.

"You don’t name your pets after food because you think they’re going to get eaten, Dames. It’s just cute! Like I had a coworker who named his dog ‘Booger’ and when I asked him why, all he could say was ‘he looks like a booger-dog’. Names sometimes are about feelings not just about what they mean." Dick explained helpfully.

"On that note, how about Marshmellow for the white one?" Tim suggested, earning a hiss from said dragon, which had been rumbling on the floor with Ali, "Marsha? Just Mellow?" The white dragon hissed again and then crawled up Bruce’s leg, coiling onto his shoulders and behind his neck.

"She really likes you, B, you should name her!" Dick said brightly.

"Yes, Father. I’m sure you would pick the perfect name." Damian agreed.

Bruce shook his head; "I told you that I’m not getting involved."

"C’mon B~ Jason’s tried to name most them, me and Tim each named one, Cass and Steph, even Babs have been giving suggestions! It’s your turn!" Now he was under not only Dick’s puppy eyes, but also Damian’s. _Damn it, when did he even learn the puppy eyes?_ While Cass and Tim were both nodding along and sending ‘do it’ signals.

"I’ll think about it." Bruce conceded, looking over as Alfred entered the library with a silver tray of cookies, Jason behind him with the heavier tray of teapot, cups, sugar, and creamer. "Has Alfred offered any suggestions?" Alfred’s eyebrow rose as Bruce put the spotlight on him instead.

"No, I do not believe Pennyworth has contributed either." Damian answered with a head tilt.

"You have any name ideas, Alfred?" Dick asked with a smile as he stood to relieve the butler of his tray and possibly a handful of cookies- only the ones that he could get away with before Cassandra got to him, "We’re trying to get B to name the white one since she likes him so much."

"I see." Alfred sent a look at Bruce. The one he constantly sent him that told him to not skirt responsibility; like when Dick painted his nails and nobody at school liked them and he didn’t understand, or when Jason was reading a book in the bath and was distraught when he dropped it, or when Tim was first Robin-ing at his side and Bruce wasn’t as supportive as he should have been.

"I said I’ll think about it." Bruce repeated as his father figure gave him a cup of tea and no cookie.

-

"How about~" Jason began and Bruce looked over at an already tensing Damian- a sneer already sticking to his face, "Shiloh?" Damian instantly loosened his posture, instead looking contemplative.

"That’s Hebrew, right?" Tim asked with a smile.

Jason nodded, "’the peaceful one’. Seems appropriate." He gestured to the dragon that was curled under a pillow on the couch, snoring softly as it slept 90% of its life away.

"Shiloh~" Cassandra said in a coo, lifting up the pillow. The dragon yawned and cocked its head at the girl, "Shiloh?" It squeaked and squirmed over to the girl’s lap, lying back down across her legs.

"Its official, we now have a Shiloh." Dick announced with a grin, then scooped up the white dragon from her perch on the back of the couch, "You’re the only one left, pretty girl." The dragon licked his nose with a dragon-y smile, "How about Snowy? Snow White? Jasmine? Ariel? Belle? Aurora?"

"Please stop with the Disney princess names." Jason cut in.

"They’re good names!" Dick defended, though it wasn’t as if the white dragon had been impressed.

"Merida? Mulan?"

"Cass, don’t stoop to Dick-head’s level, you’re better than that."

Cass just smiled, "We’re all at same level. Sophia?"

"Anna? Elsa? Cinderella?"

"Tiana? Nala? Kida?"

Bruce wasn’t sure if he was more concerned with his children’s questionable sensibilities for naming things or the fact that he could put each name with each character…

The dragon simply watched the two without responding to each prompted name, beyond a yawn, "Gizell? Joy? Alice?" "Pocahontas? Wendy? Megara?"

"Please stop." Tim finally called.

"For once, I agree with Drake. She clearly doesn’t want any of those names, anyway." Damian rose to take the dragon.

Dick pouted, holding her over his head and away from his littlest brother, "That’s why we keep trying."

"Give me the dragon." Damian commanded.

"Why? She’s my pretty girl too."

"Father!" Damian whined, like actually whined. Dick so easily made him whine. Jason and Tim both snickered. "Tell Dick to release the dragon."

Bruce figured he’d draw it out, there was something…satisfying about Damian acting his age, at least for a little while, "Why? She doesn’t look unhappy." She looked bored, just being held above Dick’s head, not even squirming.

"Its undignified!"

"Yes, because animals care about dignity." Jason earned a glare from his brother with that comment.

"Surrender the dragon peacefully, Grayson." Damian insisted.

"Peacefully huh?" Dick grinned, "Fine, you for the dragon."

"Father!" Damian whined again.

"Seems like a fair trade." Bruce replied with a shrug and Dick grinned even wider, Damian looking just betrayed.

"You can’t beat Golden Boy, Dames, might as well just accept your cuddling demise." Jason offered helpfully and Bruce half-expected Damian to stomp his foot next.

Damian drew up even straighter, "Un-peacefully it is then. Cassandra! A call to arms!" His big sister didn’t let him down, immediately diving against Dick’s knees while Damian went for the tackle. Dick went down with something between a yell and an ‘ooof’, the white dragon taking the flight the moment Dick was going down. She flew to Bruce’s lap, sitting and watching with Bruce as Dick was dominated by his siblings, and then tickled relentlessly.

"I give!"

"No peace!"

"You had your chance, Richard. You should have taken the peaceful route."

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!"

"You’re fine." Bruce assured at Dick’s call as the tickling continued, stroking the dragon’s head.

- 

 _Oh no. No. No ma’am._ Bruce thought when the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a little white dragon. She peeped at him in greetings, purple-toned eyes blinking slowly.

"I have a strict policy about my bed." He told her. She just gave another peep, "No animals. Even Alfred and Titus are restricted." She lolled onto her side, showing her belly and the soft belly fur there. "This is not permitted." _Stay strong._ He told himself, while the dragon just offered an unconcerned purr, "Off the bed, you." Man, they really needed to give her a name. Hard to order something off the bed without a name. She stretched her claws into the air; belly still primed for a pet. "I’m talking to you." He poked her in the belly, gosh it was soft. She purred some more as he rubbed her belly.

Maybe he could think of some name ideas, not like Dick or Damian would give up…and the dragon had been incredibly picky thus far.

"Velvet?" She perked a little, watching him with intense eyes, "Dewdrop?" He could only imagine Damian’s reaction to that. The dragon had crawled over next to him, nose to nose, "Maybe we’ll keep that one as a pet name." She purred and nuzzled. Something dignified then, like Damian would like, "Eira?" She chirped. "Is that the one? Eira?" Welsh for ‘snow’, homage to the Norse goddess Eir.

She bounced up, "Eira it is then." And then fluttered all over the bed, whizzing over Alfred’s head with chirps as the man came in.

"Good morning to you. And you, Master Bruce." Alfred was unaffected, drawing back the curtains to let sunlight torture the room’s occupant, "What is she so riled about?"

Bruce let out a groan, hiding from the light with a pillow over the back of his head. "Morning B!" Dick was on him before he’d even heard him coming.

"Good morning, Father." Apparently with Damian in tow. He offered his boys another groan, listening to Dick giggle- still the ringing laugh that he had as a boy, accompanied by poking in Bruce’s side like he used to as well.

"Wake up!" Dick prompted, tugging playfully at the pillow that hid Bruce’s head.

There was a thump of a body on Bruce’s other side, and Tim whispering, "He’s a monster." As he sunk under the covers.

"Its cereal day! The one day each month where I am not judged! Cereal is respected and traded and brings the whole familia together!" Dick proclaimed, standing on the bed, "I brought my favorites to share!" Bruce gripped an ankle and yanked. Dick squealed, hitting the bed with a bounce that let him tuck and flip, rolling off of the bed and up onto his hands.

"Richard, you are ridiculous." Damian stole the space on Bruce’s side that Dick had just vacated. He leaned his back against Bruce’s side, "Don’t you eat cereal all the time when you’re at home in Bludhaven?"

"Yeah, every day is cereal day for you." Tim added groggily.

"Yes, but every day is not cereal day for you poor poor souls, hence the once a month mandatory cereal day!" Dick replied, sunshine himself. What torture. "So come on, up and at ‘em!"

"Eira." Bruce summoned, the dragon sitting on the bed utterly focused on him, "get him." He pointed at Dick. The dragon chirped and then immediately went after his eldest.

"You named her!?! AH!" Dick ran from the room with Eira in pursuit.

"Father!" Damian pulled up Bruce’s pillow, face something of a pout, "You named her without us?"

"Had to, she was on my pillow this morning." He answered and tweaked Damian’s nose because he could, "what did I say about animals in my bed?"

The boy pulled away with a frown, "She was in my room with the others last night, Father." Damian said earnestly, "its not my fault that she likes you so."

"Plus, why would you name her for being in your bed? Some kind of weird punishment?" Tim asked groggily, Dick screaming back down the hallway in the other direction-dragon still in pursuit.

"Had to have a name to tell her to get off the bed." Bruce replied while the two boys just kind of snickered. He sighed and flopped his head on his pillow, knowing that any chance of going back to sleep had come and gone. His bladder agreed with his assessment as well, starting to impatiently grow heavier as he stretched and put off the inevitable. "Well I guess we’d better get moving, hm?"

"As Richard would say, ‘cereal day will not start without us’, and then he’ll mope about ‘wasted time’." Damian said with a nod.

"Can we just…not?" Tim asked, smooshing his face against Bruce’s back and then groaning when Bruce finally sat upright.

"Drake, you are an embarrassment."

"Up yours midget."

"One should always be alert and reactive, you are a gross puddle of-" "Damian-" Dick scrambling into the room and dive-bombing on the bed interrupted Damian and Bruce as he was about to scold him.

"Call her off!"

"Eira." The dragon landed on the foot-board with grace, flaring her wings, "good girl." She chirped at the praise.

"Meanie!" Bruce wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or the dragon, so he just gave a shrug, "Don’t ruin cereal day!"

"Can’t ruin something that is already messed up." Jason called, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed, "Thanks for the twenty plus text messages, Dickface, didn’t mess with my sleep at all." He sneered sarcastically.

"Oh no, he got to you too, Jay?" Tim peered out of Bruce’s blankets, sympathy in his expression, "The horror."

Jason quirked half a smirk, "Agreed, Tim-tam." He said solemnly, "The horror."

"Ya’ll are such a bunch of drama queens, all I ask is for one measly day a month to share my greatest joy with you-"

"Oh Jesus, stop him before he gets on a roll-" Jason jerked and then looked behind him, "God, its too early for the ninja shit."

Cass smirked, bowl of cereal in one hand, menacing spoon in the other, "I like when you call me God." That got a laugh from her brother. She surveyed the rest of her men-folk, "All still in bed on cereal day? Tsk tsk." She scolded them with a wave of her spoon.

"Yeah, tell ‘em Cass!" Dick chimed in like the middle schooler he truly was.

"Not you too, Cass." Tim groaned and burrowed deeper into the covers.

In response, Cass walked around the bed, putting her spoon in her bowl while she stuck a hand under the covers and got Tim by the arm, "Always me too." She told him as she pulled poor Tim from his safe darkness. She offered a spoonful of her cereal to her brother like a peace offering, "Froot Loops."

"I really don’t want ce-"

"Froot Loops." She said insistently, holding out the spoonful.

Tim groaned but accepted the bite- one didn’t tell Cassandra ‘no’. "Its soggy." He told her.

"’Cause you’re late for cereal day." She said plaintively, turning her bright eyes to Bruce next with a persistent, "Cereal day." reminder.

Bruce chuckled, hugging Tim and Damian around the shoulders, "Looks like that’s it boys, its time for cereal day." And moved to get out of the bed.

Tim groaned miserably, "You’ve all been tainted…"

"Such dramatics." Damian commented, pushing Tim out of the bed as Bruce walked into the bathroom.

"Be nice." He called as he shut the door to do his business. He welcomed the relief of emptying his bladder and also the reprieve before his sons were all fully awake and near each other for ‘cereal day’. He loved them, don’t get him wrong, and he loved all being together as a family. But it was no lie that they did not mix well when it came to just being a family. Hell, they could analyze, track down, and destroy a crime family, without a hitch together. But things like cereal day or paintball? It usually turned somewhere with something broken or messy; he always hoped that would just be mere property and not their hearts.

"You named her without us?!" Jason cried the moment that Bruce opened the bathroom door- he was tempted to just close it again.

"Eira." Bruce offered simply, the dragon coming instantly at his call and landing on his shoulder.

"I had so many more names to give! I made a list-!"

"Thank you for naming her, Father. I can only imagine how atrocious that list is." Damian cut in, coming to Bruce’s side while Dick was holding Tim up like they were soldiers fresh from a war- Tim was practically jelly and would no doubt still be on the floor without Dick.

"Whatever Gremlin, I got taste." Jason barked, holding out an arm to the dragon, "Well c’mere."

Damian pushed against Jason, but his bulky brother hardly moved, "No, I will carry her."

"Whatever." Jason intoned again, gesturing with his hand, "C’mere." He beckoned, still ignoring Damian’s attempts to move him- he actually shifted his weight and lowered his center just slightly to make it harder.

"No fussing. I think I’ll just carry her for now." He told the boys, the dragon chattering a bit at them before she curled around Bruce’s neck. He headed for the door, knowing the children would follow.

"Fine. Where are the others anyway?" Jason asked, giving a well-placed knock against Damian with his hip that would’ve sent the youngest toppling to the floor if not for his reflexes.

"Todd!" Damian snarled, going after Jason who with a grin, sidestepped and nearly tripped him with his foot. "You are asking for your demise!" Luckily it was the usual puffery, Damian’s eyes were bright with glee rather than rage as he chased after his brother, who must’ve been in a playful mood himself; Jason had just jumped the first set of stairs and was giving Damian a run for his money with those long strides. There were three short piercing whistles as the two disappeared around a corner.

Utter silence where Bruce frowned at Tim, Cass, and Dick, like ‘what was that for??’ and then the question was answered- seven dragons came flying from Damian’s room, summoned like a hoard.

"Good god, he whistle-trained them already." Tim muttered, still glued to Dick like the eldest was his lifeline. They ducked as the dragons soared over their heads and raced to Damian’s aid, from the sounds of the raucous laughter that was half-snarled (the youngest was still new to the concept of laughing), Jason had caught Damian and he did require help.

"I guess we’ll go see the damage." Bruce said with a put-upon sigh, hoping the kitchen wasn’t a total mess- he really didn’t want to clean up and be forced to eat sugary cereal in the same morning.

"You shall release me now, Todd, lest you get a fireball to that greasy fringe that you call hair!" Damian was saying, as dramatically as was required for this family.

"I do call it hair." Jason replied loftily, rubbing a knuckle into Damian’s side in just the right way that the boy giggled uncontrollably, "Besides, you don’t got the guts, I’ll take you down with me. IF it even works, you think Fish isn’t on my side? Fish is always on my side, remember that."

The scene was an abrupt merging of hostage situation and stuffed animal display, with a serious tone that somehow Bruce Wayne’s kids could give to utter nonsense. Jason had Damian with one long arm wrapped around his torso keeping him restrained, while the other hand tickled his ribs and gave brotherly noogies to his head. Damian squirmed to no avail, trying his best to outwardly deny his joy of the roughhousing. The line-up of dragons was along the bar in a perfect line, watching and waiting, crouched. All pairs of eyes dilated and focused.

With average measurements of 15-inch body, 7-inch tail, and 45-inch wingspan. Armaments of spikes along their tails, sharp claws on all four paws, and cutting fangs in their mouths. Intelligent, impeccable senses, fire-breath, and fire and heat resistance. They had the potential of being very serious threats, in this moment and in any future moments. Not just because they would be big and powerful, while also still wild animals, but…

And the ‘but’ here was why Bruce didn’t have a single worry as they lurched and then flew at the pair of boys. Both boys let out cries of surprise as they were taken to the floor and then playfully nibbled on.

But, because they were family, and every one in this family could and would be a very serious threat when necessary.


End file.
